A Father's Pride
by bright hope
Summary: Both his son's are now full grown, but there was a time when they were no more than young, innocent elflings who would fight to sit in their Ada's lap, or to hear their Amme tell them a song... The summer where the twins began to grow up is a special time
1. A Father's Pride

Hi all! I'm so glad you decided to pop by and read this (nods head) uhuh, I am. Haha. Anyway, I'm not quite sure if this can be counted as a chapter, more like a prologue, if you know what I mean, the *real* story, starts next chapter, though this is a sweet patriarchal reflection-like time for Elrond anyway. 

Little is known about the twins, as Tolkien did not touch much upon them, and most of what we know is fanon-based, not canon. This is my interpretation of them, sorry if it's different from some of yours, but ah, that's just the beauty of fanfiction, everything's open to interpretation. 

As you all should know, all the characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. If you don't... shame on you! Whatever are you doing here? Lol. I've written out the next few chapters of this already, I just need to type it out and edit it, but I figured I could just post the prologue first. 

Yeah, yeah. Fiiine. Enough Rambling, Let's get on with the fic itself. : ) 

Prologue – A Father's Pride

Standing on the threshold of his sons' rooms, Elrond paused, silently surveying them, and delighting for a moment, in the simple joy of parenthood, enjoying the pride and happiness it brought and accepting also the sad and bittersweet tones it carried. 

A soft, warm light filled the room, making the shelves and tables seem to glow, resting on the puffy armchairs and highlighting the two tall figures in the room.

Both twins had just returned from a scouting expedition and Elrond had been relieved to learn that no serious injuries had been sustained this time. He knew he could not stop the boys from leaving – they were full-fledged adults now and they had the right to decide their own actions, and their coming and going. Elrond could advise, and if needs be he could command, but he knew that his boys had grown up, and there was little he could do about it.

However, he could not help but wish that the twins could be elflings once more, their sole worries in life whether they would do well in their lessons, and the only trouble they could have engaged in not the dangers outside the valley. The only risks they had to face the possibility of suffering a rough tumble during training, not the chance of death in a risky skirmish with orcs.

Elladan and Elrohir were both sprawled in the elder's room. Elladan had an array of weapons spread before him, and Elrond winced internally as he spied a long, heavy pole balanced precariously atop a bookcase, while his eldest lay nonchalantly lengthwise upon a rug in the room, one hand twirling a dagger idly while he scanned through several maps. 

Elladan had been a most difficult child; stubborn almost to a fault, prideful, and terribly restless. On the other hand, he was also determined, protective of those he loved, and intelligent. As he had grown older, these qualities had balanced each other out, with him accepting criticism gracefully, though earlier flashes of his early mulishness still showed. 

Ai, Elladan, Elrond thought fondly, as the former propped himself up on his elbow, calling out a teasing remark to his twin and ducking when an overstuffed pillow sailed his way. 

Since young, Elrond's eldest had never been one to show much emotion, given to sullenness when he was upset and impassiveness when he felt hurt. Elladan would never have admitted that he needed help, nor that he wanted comfort, for that was him. As the lanky, young elfling had matured into a tall elf, eager to cut his path in the world, so had his seemingly emotionless nature. But Elrond knew that his eldest was never as heartless as he may have tried to portray himself. In the right company, and in lighter times, Elladan was as merry as the youngest of elflings who ran on Imladris' beautiful grounds, playing games and splashing in the pool. 

Few could bring out the child in Elladan, and Elrohir was one of those with the special privilege.

Whenever the twins fought or argued, they always did so fiercely and bitterly, but eventually, everything would be alright once more. And that was the beauty in their relationship, one that Elrond wondered at times, if he would have had had his brother chosen differently. Had Elros decided to be numbered among the Eldar, would they have trodden the same path his sons had taken, or would they still have been separated in the end. 

But Elros had made his choice, and had been numbered among the race of men, though Elrond would have wished it otherwise. Still, despite the passing of the years, Elrond's memories of his brother were still crystal clear, though it hurt to think of them. 

His sons were lucky, in that they had been together all the way, with only brief separations that had threatened to send one twin, if not the other, over the edge. But Elrond wondered, would his sons one day be separated as a result of the choice they had to make? Would they then take the same path he and Elros had and lived with the grief that came after?

If Elrond could choose, he would have wanted to protect both his sons from the pain and misery that they had to witness and endure in the lifetimes, but there was nothing he could do. The sweet summer of innocent childhood had passed more quickly then he would have thought possible, and his sons had grown up. 

_Elladan, if you could, you would bear the burden of everyone around you, especially Elrohir, wouldn't you?_ Elrond asked in the depths of his mind. He received no answer, but he needed none, for he knew the reply without having to receive it. If Elladan had the ability to, Elrond knew that he would have taken every inch of unhappiness that his brother had to go through, willingly, and taken it in joy, knowing that through his suffering, Elrohir would have only bliss. For that was Elladan.

_Is that what it means to be the eldest? Is that the weight that Elladan carries, the responsibility he holds, though he is but a few minutes older? _

For all the quirks and rough edges his eldest son possessed, Elrond loved him as any father would a son. He had watched the chubby elfling with large grey eyes grow into a lanky and awkward teenager, had watched the teenager mature into a tall and fine elf, gaining knowledge and confidence the whole way, and he was proud of it. 

Another sound from inside the room caught Elrond's attention. His younger had laid down the tome he had been pursuing before. Creeping quietly towards his brother, who was too absorbed in his maps to notice anything amiss, Elrohir hit his elder brother soundly in the head, with a cry of triumph.

Elladan sat up, abandoning his maps for the moment, and snatching up the pillow on the floor which Elrohir had earlier thrown, he proceeded to pummel his younger brother with it. 

Elrohir, of course, would not have accepted a beating without returning one, and he continued to swing the pillow at Elladan satisfied at having created the mayhem he wanted. Feathers flew wildly around the room and floated around in a huge white storm, resting on various surfaces and giving his sons a decidedly strange look, but they did not care, and their laughter pealed from the depths of the flying feathers, a sound seldom heard since their mother had departed. 

_You would think them no more than elflings, the way they are behaving now_, Elrond thought amusedly, wincing in sympathy as Elladan delivered a particularly hard blow to Elrohir's middle. In mock anger, Elrohir straightened, lifting his pillow high above his head… 

_Elrohir. _

Elrond's youngest son was as easygoing and charming an elfling as his brother had been demanding and stubborn. Elrohir could win hearts over with a sudden smile, brilliant as the sun peeking past the clouds after a storm. Elladan was a warrior, but Elrohir was a diplomat. 

More accepting of criticism, though more often he garnered praise, and far less prideful than Elladan, Elrohir had been the most even-tempered elfling Elrond had ever seen. His seemingly sweet nature, however had dept hidden a will as strong as his brother's. Elrohir generally chose to stick by diplomacy and charm, leaving the path of aggression to his elder brother, but that did not mean that Elrond's youngest was easily bullied. 

Far too many emissaries from other kingdoms had chosen to assume that Elrohir's even-temperedness meant weakness, and they had all learnt otherwise. 

Unlike Elladan, Elrohir saw no shame in crying when he could no longer hold back his anguish, or showing his pleasure and exuberance when things went well. Elrohir lacked Elladan's emotional control, but he never needed it anyway. As far as Elrohir was concerned, showing emotion was not a weakness. Not among family and friends anyway. 

Elrohir had been a curious sort of elfling, as much as his brother, if not more, but he had always been patient, willing to wait for an answer, or to stay silent until he got a chance to ask his question, especially as he got older. 

Also, he had been the one who treasured the lessons the twins received every morning, listening attentively always, small, dark head tilted forward, and large, grey eyes serious as he tackled his assignments. 

Though Elrohir doubtless enjoyed his training, as did the many elflings in Imladris, he never failed to look forward to his lessons. As the elflings had started training, Elladan had by far done better than Elrohir, being more inclined towards activity than study, but in the classroom, Elrohir reigned supreme. 

It was perhaps this enormous gap in their personalities that had driven the twins apart the summer they had been ten. Always it had been known that they were different, but before, they had loved the same things and hated the similar. Never had one twin been seen without the other before, but that summer, they had started to tread opposite paths. 

Whilst most mornings would see Elladan out on the training grounds trying to perfect some maneuver or other, Elrohir would be found in the library, or in his rooms, hungrily devouring some text or scroll. At other times, he would be found in the Halls of Fire, indulging in the many beautiful strains that filled the hall…

The twins had been particularly difficult to manage that summer, Elrond reflected. Both had now matured into wonderful adults he could be proud of, but that one summer, above all others, always brought joy to his heart. His Cel had been around then, and it had been a time of love, learning, and family… 

As you all can guess, the story from here on would jump to that summer. I'm not quite sure when I can update, I've got classes going on, but I'll try my best, even though I'm going out of the country for a family holiday in a bit. Do Review, and leave your comments and suggestions, constructive (ahem, ahem *g*) criticism, you know the drill, and do let me know if anything is seriously amiss. (As in, if I messed up any dates or other information concerning the canon part of the characters. So far, I rather doubt it though...

Oh, and as a side note, the twins are 10, that means that they are probably slightly smaller than a normal human of equivalent age, but that their IQ is as high as any other kid of 10. Due to their slight human blood, I figure they'll just be *slightly* bigger than other elflings their age, and as a result, the rest of their friends and other elflings whom they consider their contemporaries would be just a little older than them. It's not really that important, but I thought I'd clear it up a little. 

Ok, so now that you've read it. Drop a note. You know I'd love to read it. And I'll update as soon as I can, k? All the best, people! 


	2. Summer is Come

Hi all! This is the next chapter... I could have split it into two I think... but well. Anyway, I'm going out of the country soon for a lovely family holiday, so I've no idea when I can next update, probably when I come back... but I'm going to keep writing in the hotel room at night anyway! Whoo! Ok, so here's the next chapter, have fun!

Chapter One - Summer is Come 

Spring was drawing to a close, and summer would soon begin. Alone in his study, Elrond stood by a window, looking out at the world around him, hands clasped serenely behind his back, his eyes distant as he enjoyed the light breeze playing on his clothes, and making his robes rustle. 

Cel, he knew, was with the other ladies, having chosen to sit and sew for the afternoon. Elrond loved watching his wife sew, but he would never understand nor enjoy the fine art of it. Remembering Glorfindel's look of consternation and unbridled horror when Celebrian had once offered to teach Elrond's blond friend how to embroider many years back, the Lord of Imladris let out a rather undignified snicker. 

Glorfindel could sew, and sew quite well, but Elrond rather suspected that his blond advisor would rather face another balrog once more than be caught sitting beside Celebrian and stitching little golden daisies on smooth white linen by his Lord, a situation that Glorfindel had been found in ages ago. 

Glorfindel had not been entertained by the fact that he was sewing _golden flowers_ and from that time on, had made himself scarce whenever Celebrian whipped out her needle. Elrond stitched wounds and Glorfindel his own torn tunics, and neither desired to embroider, a fact that Celebrian respected. 

Elrond's lovely silver-haired wife had confided in him only recently that she had offered to teach Glorfindel how to sew his own golden flowers as a joke, but had not expected him to gallantly take up the offer, afraid of offending Celebrian. They had decided to keep that fact a secret from Glorfindel, but Elrond could scarce keep his lips from twitching everytime Glorfindel proceeded edging away from his wife the minute she commenced sewing. 

Currently, the blond elf lord was out on one of Imladris' many lush training grounds, fulfilling his duty as Captain of the Home Guard, and training the many eager young soldiers under him. Glorfindel had hurridly disappeared after lunch, before Elrond could give him any of the paperwork he was due to complete. Whatever Glorfindel did, he generally did well. It was getting him to do it that was the problem. 

Erestor was probably in his room, handling his share of documents. Elrond's two advisors were as different as night and day, and Elrond sometimes wondered how they managed to survive without killing the other first. With all the baiting and pranking they indulged in, Elrond was sure they were as bad as, if not worse than his sons in Troublemaker mode. 

Much to Elrond's worry, he had seen neither hide nor hair of his sons since lunch. Elladan and Elrohir had lessons in the morning, but until they started their warrior training, their afternoons were theirs to enjoy as they would, unless they had received extra lessons as punishment from their tutor. 

Istion, the twins' young tutor, was overjoyed at having as enthusiastic a learner as Elrohir under him. On the other hand, he despaired over Elladan, who seemed determined to drive Istion mad. 

When Elrond had paid the twins a visit the week before, he had stayed hidden by the doorway for a moment, and had been treated to seeing Istion glaring in exasperation at Elladan, while the latter slouched down at his desk, returning look for look, and glowering at his tutor. 

Istion appeared to be reprimanding Elladan about an ill-done piece of work, and neither tutor nor tutee appeared ready to listen to the other, with Elladan convinced that he had done well enough, and Istion that Elladan had barely put in any effort. 

Elrohir had been reading some text quietly next to Elladan, with a partly amused, partly resigned air about him as he observed his elder brother desecrate the schoolroom table with several hard kicks, and driving, nay, shoving their teacher up the wall.

Elrond had left without a word, but later that night, he had pulled Elladan away from where the twins had been listening attentively to Celebrian telling a story and had a long talk with his older son. When Elladan seemed inclined not to listen to his father as a matter of pride, Glorfindel had turned up and cheerfully informed Elladan that his enrollment in training, which was due to start in the summer, depended on him paying attention in his lessons. 

Quite apparently, Istion had been speaking to Glorfindel and showing him the various battle plans that often took the place of math solutions in Elladan's homework. Later that night, after the twins had gone to bed, and both elf lords had been alone with Celebrian, with no little prying ears trying to listen in to their conversation, Glorfindel had admitted with a shudder that he sounded terribly _father-like._

While Glorfindel had no trouble commanding and scolding his soldiers, he hated having to reprimand the twins. The next day, he had apologized to a sulky Elladan, and brought him along to watch the home guard training. Needless to say, Elladan had practically skipped in with Glorfindel for dinner, throwing Elrohir, who had spent the afternoon in the Halls of Fire with Celebrian, a triumphant look.

The evening had ender with Elrohir in tears, and Elladan dragged out of the dining hall by Elrond, and sent to bed, before he could cause any more damage. 

Elrond loved both of his sons dearly, but Elladan was just so… _difficult_ that was the only word for it. Much to his regret, Elrond had never known his own father. Ereinion had been a wonderful substitute father figure as Elrond was growing up, but Elladan was little like his sire in temperament and hobbies, seeming to take more after Elros, in fact. Sometimes, Elrond was at a partial loss on what to do with his older son.

Elrohir was more easily pacified and easier to handle than Elladan, who was by nature more demanding. Elrohir's love for books and lore were easily satisfied by Elrond, while Elladan looked upon such activities with impatience. 

With a soft sigh, Elrond pushed himself away from the railing. Peels of laughter could be heard from below, where a group of elflings were playing tag, before the sounds faded as the elflings scampered away. Elrond could just make our two identical dark heads in the midst of the others before the elflings turned a corner and were gone. 

Looking at the large pile of papers on his desk, Elrond scowled. Then, he resignedly picked up his quill and started to pursue the first document. He had dozens of reports to go through, and with luck, he might just be able to finish by dinner. 

~*~

Elrohir yelped as another, older, elfling almost tagged him. He had been eying the other catcher, and had forgotten about the first. Then, he was off, running swiftly along one of Imladris' many paths as the two older elflings chased him. Glancing back, he could see Hirion at the front of the pack. Hirion was leader to a large number of the elflings, being the oldest and biggest of the lot. Also, he had apparently been able to steal a pie from under the cook's nose once. 

The cook sometimes gave the twins pies on days when she was in a good mood, or on special occasions, and they had never needed to steal a single one. Wisely, however, Elrohir chose to keep that fact to himself, never having found the need to disclose it to Hirion.

As Elrohir skidded around the corner, he caught sight of a flash of blue. There was a loud 'oof!' and two thuds as the twins fell onto the floor. Elladan had managed to avoid most of the elflings by clambering onto a roof as they tramped by. Unfortunately, one of the other elflings had caught sight of him, and Elladan had had to quickly slide down, ripping the sleeve of his tunic on an overhanging corner in the process, and quite nearly spraining his ankle. 

Scrambling upright, his tunic muddy, Elladan offered a hand to his younger brother, pulling Elrohir up. Then, Elladan had sped away from the path, towards the forest, tugging Elrohir with him. There was a cry of "There they are!" as the other elflings saw them, the catchers eager to get their prey, and the spectators curious as to which of the twins would get caught first. 

Weaving quietly through the forest, Elladan stifled his giggles with his hand. The others _really_ had no idea where the brothers had disappeared to. Frowning, Elladan paused, tapping one foot thoughtfully. If he and 'Ro stayed together, they were sure to get caught. If they separated however…

Catching hold of Elrohir's shoulder, Elladan whispered, small face intent, "Ro, how about you go there, and I go here? Then they'll _never _catch us." Elrohir bit his lip. The last time the twins had gone wandering in the forest, they had gotten hopelessly lost, to the point where their Ada and Glorfindel had needed to search for them. 

"Dan…"

Elladan scowled, stomping his foot defiantly on the ground. "I don't care," he announced in annoyance, "you're never any fun. I'm going, and don't try to follow me."

With that, Elladan roughly wrenched his arm from Elrohir and was soon lost to the thick tree trunks. Elrohir sighed. He really did not want to go any further into the forest, but if he continued standing at the same spot, then he would soon get caught. Then the other elflings would laugh at him, and they would all know that Elladan was a better hider than he was. 

Glancing about, Elrohir was struck by a sudden inspiration. That tree was still quite young, and its branches were low enough such that Elrohir could climb up. If he hid in the tree, no one would see him, and perhaps Elladan would get caught for a change. Elladan would be furious of course, but it was only fair that he get caught some of the time. 

With a wicked grin, Elrohir climbed slowly up, careful not to slip back down, and rested against a low branch, confident that the other elflings would not be able to catch him for once. 

Hi, to all the lovely people who reviewed, I'm afraid I can't respond as yet, coz I've got to run as I haven't finished my theory, and I've got my music lesson in awhile. All the same, thanks alot! Haha, I was motivated to update faster, no? *grin*

To the rest of my lovely readers, look! There's a pretty little button down there. You know you want to review... Just give it a little click! Lol.

All the best, and ciao, till my next update! *scurries off to complete theory homework* Heh. 


	3. Fights and Falls

Hi, I realized I haven't updated for quite sometime, I'm so sorry, I was on holiday, out of the country… so I didn't quite get the chance to update. Went to New Zealand (sighs blissfully). It was just amazing, I could probably gush about my trip for pages and pages (as evidenced by my diary) but I shan't bore you with the details… so on to the story! 

Chapter Two – Fights and Falls 

As quietly as was possible for an elfling, Elladan ran further into the forest, pausing every once in a while to see if he had been sighted yet. When the trees around him remained still and silent, Elladan sank down into the ground, resting against a trunk and keeping a wary eye out for Hirion and the group of elflings he held court over at the same time. 

Elladan hated Hirion. The older elfling was terribly jealous of the younger one who was as good as, if not better than him in most matters. The only area where Hirion won hands down was in age and size, two things Elladan had absolutely no control over, even if he had wanted to change it. 

Being smaller, Elladan reflected, smiling blithely, was good when dealing with annoying elflings like Hirion. It was far more embarrassing when Hirion lost to Elladan in some competition or other, then when Elladan lost to Hirion, and that was what mattered. 

Not only was Hirion always at odds with Elladan, he was constantly picking on 'Ro. Elladan frowned. He would apologize to 'Ro later. He shouldn't have told 'Ro he was no fun, for, admittedly, his brother had gone gamely along with some of the more ridiculous schemes Elladan was famous for concocting. 'Ro could be sporting, Elladan knew, but at that particular moment, he was just so... infuriating. 

There. Istion would be pleased that the last vocabulary lesson the twins had was being used, Elladan thought sourly, his face screwing up at the thought of his tutor. Elladan would never understand why his younger brother liked to spend so much time listening to their Ammë tell stories. It was fun, fair enough, especially when the sun had gone down and there was little else to do after dinner, but to spend a wonderfully sunny day indoors, even for a story, was something Elladan had trouble understanding. 

Not only that, Elrohir would sometimes chose to stay with Istion, to ask some more questions, or with their Ada, to look through some maps, when the twins could be swinging from tree to tree, running through the long grass, or splashing in a small pool. 

'Ro was strange, Elladan concluded with a grimace, but he was still going to apologize to him later. Even though everyone seemed to like 'Ro more. Elladan was sure of that. Istion definitely did. And every time Istion complained to Ada about Elladan's dismal homework, Ada would give him the look, and send him up to his room, or give him some punishment or other. (Elladan quite conveniently ignored the fact that Elrond would always come up to talk to him after that) And Istion would rather just teach 'Ro. Elladan had found that out when he had overheard Istion telling his Ammë that "Elrohir is a delight to teach" but that "Elladan needs to work much harder".

Feeling abjectly betrayed by Elrohir, Elladan sunk into the hollow at the base of the large trunk, his arms folded and his eyes narrowed mutinously. Maybe he wouldn't apologize to 'Ro after all, Elladan thought, as he dug the heels of his small, light boots into the damp and muddy ground. 

He would get his boots and more of his tunic dirty, and his Ammë would scold him. For some reason, Elladan felt oddly satisfied at this fact. 

~*~

As Feäloth passed under the young tree, Elrohir pressed himself backwards, trying to make himself as small as possible, in hopes that he would not be seen. Tucking his knees to his chest, Elrohir turned his head ever so slightly, such that most of his face was cast into shadow. Hopefully…

"Oh, look," a scornful voice cut across Elrohir's thoughts. "Here's one of them, scrunched up like the coward that he is. I wonder which though, I can't tell them apart." Sniggering slightly, Hirion turned to face the other elflings, Elrohir left forgotten on the branch for a moment, "Can you? Not that it matters though… they're both as useless as each other…"

Despite himself, Elrohir felt his face heating up. "Well there's only one way to find out," Hirion remarked cheerfully, moving towards the tree, "we'll shake it out." Before Hirion could even touch the trunk however, Elrohir had pounced at him, giving a loud howl of outrage that surprised even himself. Stunned, Hirion froze with one arm outstretched, and the next second, he was flat on his back, Elrohir scowling fiercely at him from where he was pinning Hirion down. 

However, since Hirion was stronger and bigger, Elrohir soon found himself flat on his back, Hirion having flipped him over, smirking triumphantly. He could hear some of the elflings beginning to giggle, and he tried to wriggle out of the way. 

"Leave him alone."

Elladan had pushed to the front of the crowd, and was staring before Hirion, staring ominously at the older elfling, his eyes clouded in worry for his younger brother, completely forgetting that he was displeased with Elrohir for the time being. Hirion snorted derisively, but released Elrohir, standing at his full height so he could look down at Elladan.

"Or what? You'll run to your ammë? Like the mother's boys that you are?"

Choosing not to rise to the bait, Elladan shrugged. "Or I'll fight you myself," he said coolly. 

"Oh really?" Hirion studied the elfling before him thoughtfully. 

"Yes. Really."

Meanwhile, Elrohir had propped himself up on his elbow and was scowling at his brother. He could take care of himself. He did not need Elladan to come barging in to trying to be a hero. "Elladan," he burst out rather furiously, "I can handle it myself!" 

"Stay out of this," Elladan murmured, without glancing at Elrohir, his gaze fixed on Hirion. 

The other elflings were looking excitedly between Hirion and Elladan, completely ignoring Elrohir. Any fight was always a good show, and one that took place between those two particular elflings was without fail splendid enough to recount for several days. 

Then, Hirion charged at Elladan. 

The younger elf neatly side-stepped, his mind going back to some of the hand to hand combat he had seen Glorfindel teaching the young recruits. Brawling was, as a general rule, sternly discouraged among the elves, but Glorfindel liked his recruits prepared for all forms of fighting. Rather unwisely, perhaps, he had invited the elder son of Elrond along on that particular day, and Elladan had been waiting to try the move on someone since.

As Hirion passed him, Elladan gripped the front of the older elfling's tunic, and flipped him onto the forest floor, before moving back and out of range. Elladan knew that Hirion was far stronger, so if he was to win, he would have to rely on his greater agility and (possibly) skill. Hirion lay gasping on the ground and Elladan relaxed slightly, waiting for him to rise, afraid that it would be unsporting to attack him while he was thus disadvantaged. 

When Hirion didn't rise, Elladan moved forward, concerned. He didn't mean to throw Hirion that hard… This however, proved to be a huge mistake, for Hirion smirked, reached out, and grabbed Elladan's right leg, yanking the older twin down. Then, he aimed a punch at Elladan's right side. 

Elladan winced as stars went off in his vision. His cheekbone hurt, and he was sure that he would have a splendid black eye the next day. Kicking out, he felt his foot connect with something soft, and smiled in satisfaction. He wouldn't be the only one. 

As Elladan and Hirion tumbled on the forest floor, landing blows on each other, Elrohir watched dispassionately from the side. The other elflings were cheering (and bettering) but Elrohir was disinclined to partake in either activity, still feeling terribly angry. Well, Elladan wanted a fight didn't he, he thought angrily, it serves him right when he gets beaten up then. 

Pain shot out in his right arm and Elladan yelped. Hirion had _bitten_ him. While he was still trying to get over that fact, Hirion slammed Elladan into the ground, and the elfling felt his vision swim. If only the trees would stop moving…

"I'm better than you, _half-elf_" Hirion spat, watching in glee as Elladan's eyes glazed over momentarily, "remember that."

Then Hirion had stood up and sauntered off, accompanied by all the elated elflings, safe the twins. "What vicious fun!"

"…and when you slammed him!"

"Wait till my brother hears about this…"

"…always knew you would win…"

The voices faded off into the forest, and Elladan groaned, closing his eyes. His head really, really, hurt. As a matter of fact, Elladan was sure his whole body ached. Shaking his head in an attempt to get rid of the spinning trees, he pulled himself onto his feet, but fell back down, when Elrohir shoved him. "I didn't need you to interfere!" the younger twin yelled, hands balled up by his sides. 

Elladan groaned, more loudly this time. His mind felt strangely disconnected from his body, and he did wish that Elrohir would quit using such difficult words. "I did not," he protested, blinking owlishly up at Elrohir, "I was trying to help."

"Well, I did _not_ need your help."

"Hirion would have hurt you, 'Ro…"

"Don't call me that!" With a stamp of his foot, Elrohir was gone.

Standing up, Elladan looked dolefully down at himself. His tunic was torn and scratched everywhere, his leggings were ripped, and he was sure he looked awful.

Ammë and Ada were going to kill him. And, strangely enough, he didn't feel quite so satisfied with that fact as he had before. 

As before, to all those lovely people who reviewed, I'm ever thankful, and really, it's part of what really motivates me to write. Of course, the fact that I love writing IS a major part of it… but I would probably drag on and never get much completed without all the lovely reviews, so thanks so much!

I know I didn't quite reply the reviews from my first chapter, so I shall proceed to do so now, and I'm so sorry I wasn't able to the last time… and to all those who have reviewed for my second chapter too, thanks! And I hope you like this update. 

angelbelle-ariana – Thanks! I do try, and I do love stories about the twins, especially when they were younger. Next chapter, here! 

frodo16424 – Lol, I rather suspect that they would be upset if they found out that their father could sneak around like that without their knowledge. But that's what's cool. Thanks for the review! 

daw the minstrel – I hope so too! : ) Haha, I'll try my best, and I hope you like the story.

Elentari-Taure – Thanks! Here's another update coming, and I hope I can continue to update frequently, though with this huge increase in work and stuff that's bound to be coming up… one can only hope! I'll update whenever I can though. 

Lutris – Yep, the idea that the twins can still be childish sometimes, and it kind of brings back fond memories of the twins when they were younger and all the floating feathers… Elrond should be used to them by now though, and we all know there'll be a sudden influx of 'pillow-wars' once Estel comes to Imladris… =P Thanks, and here's the update! Hope you like. : )

Sara – Sorry for the huge break… Holiday. Lol, oh yes, the idea of Glorfindel embroidering is rather… amusing no? (runs away from enraged balrog-slayer)

Ithilin Palandiriel – Thanks! And I hope you liked this chapter too! 

Dragon Confused – Thanks! Haha, I can never quite decide whether to wish that Tolkien had written a lot more about Elrond and his family, or to be glad that he hasn't, since that leaves much more room for interpretation… Lol. It would've been great if Tolkien had tackled the topic more… though I'm quite obviously biased. : ) Ah yes, young twins are just so adorable. Heh. Love such fics too. 

And to everyone else, thanks for reading this story! Drop me a review, come on… please? Haha, I'd love to hear from you. And do let me know if I've made any severe errors… I don't think (and don't hope) so though…

See you! I'll update as soon as I've got some spare time again. In the meantime, however, I'll just continue writing. : ) Merry (belated) Christmas everyone! 


End file.
